These days in politics, there is talk that "the People Power Party has entered competition for the party leadership early." Jang Dong-hyeok's term as leader ends in Aug. Preparations for the June 3 local elections are in full swing, but the People Power Party already appears to be visibly moving into a leadership race.
Attention is focusing on whether Jang will seek another term, whether Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, will make a bid, and whether Na Kyung-won and former leader Han Dong-hoon will step forward.
On the 17th, Oh Se-hoon said he would enter the People Power Party's Seoul mayor nomination race, putting an initial end to his power struggle with the party leadership. Inside and outside the People Power Party, the analysis is that "the conflict between Oh and the party leadership has only finished 'round one.'" The view is that Oh will jump in earnestly to the party leadership contest after the local elections.
If the People Power Party suffers a crushing defeat in the local elections, a "responsibility" debate is likely to rise, heightening the chance of a full-blown clash between Oh and the leadership under Jang Dong-hyeok. A People Power Party official said, "Jang is likely to say the pro-Oh faction is to blame and seek a renewed mandate from party members, while, conversely, Oh may challenge for the leadership with party reform as his goal."
Na Kyung-won and former leader Han Dong-hoon are also being mentioned as candidates for the next party leader. In Han's case, the issue of reinstatement from disciplinary action must be resolved first for him to run for party leader.
A People Power Party official said, "Both Jang and Oh share the weakness of not having sufficient factions within the party." Jang did become party leader in the aftermath of the Dec. 3 martial law situation, but is assessed as having failed to form a faction sizable enough to be called a "pro-Jang" camp. Oh, as a local government head, is relatively weak in "Yeouido politics," and although the pro-Oh-leaning camp has recently been speaking in unison, it is difficult to view it as a full-fledged "pro-Oh" faction.
Some say the party should move to an emergency leadership council by putting forward young first-term lawmakers like Kim Jae-seop. A political source said, "Kim Jae-seop was previously mentioned as a candidate for emergency committee chair but reportedly declined," adding, "If the local election results are worse than in 2018, it may be better to reset the board through an emergency council."